German Chancellor Angela Merkel prepares to address both Houses of the British Parliament in the Palace of Westminster on Feb. 27.德國總理安格拉‧梅克爾二月二十七日在英國西敏宮準備對國會兩議院發言。

Photo: AFP照片：法新社

The UN General Assembly has adopted a resolution drafted by Brazil and Germany that demands an end to excessive spying and invasion of privacy after a former US intelligence contractor revealed massive international surveillance programs, UN diplomats said in December last year.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have both condemned the widespread snooping by the US National Security Agency (NSA).

Charges that the NSA accessed tens of thousands of French phone records and monitored Merkel’s mobile phone have caused outrage in Europe. Germany said on Oct. 25 last year that it would send its top intelligence chiefs to Washington the following week to seek answers from the White House.

In response to the disclosures about US spying, many of which came from fugitive former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, the German and Brazilian UN delegations began working on a draft resolution to submit to the 193-nation General Assembly, several UN diplomats told Reuters.

General Assembly resolutions are non-binding, unlike resolutions of the 15-nation Security Council. Assembly resolutions that enjoy broad international support can however carry significant moral and political weight.